17 Great Television Series Rejected by the Emmys in 2018

“Billions”

“Corporate”

“Dear White People”

“Divorce”

“The Expanse”

“Halt and Catch Fire”

“High Maintenance”

“Jane the Virgin”

“The Last O.G.”

“Mosaic”

“Room 104”

“Schitt’s Creek”

“Speechless”

“Sneaky Pete”

“The Terror”

“Vida”

“You’re the Worst”

The 2018 Emmy nominations have been announced. While deserving shows such as “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Atlanta,” “Barry,” and “The Americans” all walked away with a handful of nods, many other amazing dramas and comedies walked away with not a single nomination. Click through the gallery for the must-see shows left out of the Emmys race in 2018.

Showtime’s “Homeland” has been a reliable performer at the Emmys (Mandy Patinkin is once again nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series), but the same can’t be said for “Billions.” The Paul Giamatti/Damian Lewis series has emerged as one of television’s juciest dramas over its three seasons, with the most recent run of episodes being its most thrilling yet.

As IndieWire wrote when naming “Corporate’ one of 2018’s best shows so far, the series is a masterclass in how to wring dark laughs and pointed commentary out of a familiar workplace sitcom premise. The Emmys have long ignored Comedy Central brilliance (see “Review”), but “Corporate” deserves the recognition.

If director Justin Simien and actress Logan Browning can’t get nominated for their work on the monumental eighth episode of “Dear White People” Season 2, we’re afraid nothing might ever be able to do the trick. In both of their hands, the episode is one of TV’s most powerful half hours.

It’s a shame Sharon Horgan’s HBO comedy “Divorce” never caught on with more viewers. Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church stepped up to the plate in Season 2 by delivering performances that cut deep to expose their characters’ humility and pain. Their Emmy-worthy work made “Divorce” a comedy gem.

The Emmys have long been resistant to science-fiction series (not every show can be like “Lost”), so “The Expanse” has always been a long shot across its first three seasons. The series gets stronger with every run, so perhaps the revived fourth season on Amazon will get it on the Emmys’ radar.

“Halt and Catch Fire” ended its four-season run on AMC on a high note, proving once and for all how adept it had become at mixing intimate character drama with heart-pounding conspiracy thrills. Lee Pace and Mackenzie Davis were particular standouts.

“Atlanta” gets credit and Emmys love for being an unpredictable force of creativity each episode. The same could be said of Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair’s HBO pot comedy “High Maintenance.” In Season 2, the show managed to tackle real-world anxieties and depict honest, well-rounded characters in less than 30 minutes. Some hour-long dramas can’t even do what “High Maintenance” does on a weekly basis.

“Jane the Virgin” is consistently one of the Emmys biggest snubs, as it’s never once received a nomination in a major comedy category. The show’s fourth season revitalized the series and creator Jennie Snyder Urman and actress Gina Rodruiguez earned the best reviews of the series entire run so far. You know the Emmys aren’t paying attention when Anthony Mendez can’t even score an Outstanding Narrrator nomination.

Throwing together Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish proved to be even funnier than anticipated on TBS’ “The Last O.G.” Morgan earned an Emmy nomination in 2009 for “30 Rock,” but his highly anticipated return to sitcom TV went unnoticed by the awards show this time.

If Steven Soderbergh’s murdery mystery “Mosaic” received more support from critics and audiences, then it would have been a no-brainer for the TV Academy in several limited series categories. Soderbergh’s “The Knick” also failed to get nominated in major categories, but luckily “Godless (which he produced) landed a couple nominations this year.

If “Black Mirror” is able to compete in the TV Movie race, then Mark and Jay Duplass’ brilliant HBO anthology series “Room 104” should be able to do the same, even if each runs no more than 30 minutes. In some ways, that’s the Duplass brothers’ biggest accomplishment: Every half hour of “Room 104” is visually distinct and inventively told.

“Schitt’s Creek,” created by Eugene and Dan Levy, is the funniest show on television you’re not watching. If the comedy aired on a more awards-friendly channel (its home is the cable network Pop) then it would no doubt be a threat to reckon with at the Emmys. Catherine O’Hara, in particular, is a comedic force of nature.

“Modern Family” and “Blackish” are always ABC’s biggest possibilities for Emmy comedy nominations each year, which leaves “Speechless” and “Fresh Off the Boat” hung out to dry. At least “Fresh Off the Boat” often has critical support for, at the very least, Constance Wu. “Speechless” is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Emmys, which is a shame considering how marvelous Minnie Driver is as the family matriarch.

Amazon’s originals don’t have the Emmys momentum of rival Netflix, but that shouldn’t stop “Sneaky Pete” from being recognized. The show’s second season featured strong work from Giovanni Ribisi and Margo Martindale, with the latter proving she’s got what it takes to rival Ann Dowd as TV’s supporting actress MVP.

“The Terror” earned a strong following on AMC thanks to its character-driven horror. The fact the Emmys didn’t recognize the series in numerous crafts categories is shocking. Simply put, the production design on “The Terror” will easily go down as some of the best television work of 2018.

The luminous performances from Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada and the sun-drenched direction from Alonso Ruizpalacios should’ve made “Vida” at least a contender for an Emmy nomination or two, but alas the Starz series will have to try again with the recently announced season two.

Stephen Falk’s brilliant FXX sitcom “You’re the Worst” has never been nominated for an Emmy during its first three seasons, so the unfortunate reality is that a nomination for Season 4 was probably never going to happen. Considering the show’s hilarious and character-specific dialogue, plus Aya Cash’s revelatory lead performance, “You’re the Worst” will go down in history as one of the Emmys’ most glaring comedic oversights.